Alex Kennedy @AlexKennedyNBA Executives are falling in love with Bradley Beal. Teams are trying to trade into the top four to select Beal, according to multiple sources.
For this particular discussion we are talking about talent at Drummonds size: "Sadly, Greg Oden is probably done in the NBA. He's had more knee surgery than most athletes would have in their life time, yet he's only contributed a total of 82 games across four NBA seasons. A lesser talent would have been cut from the NBA years ago, but Greg Oden's problem has never been talent. In his last season in the NBA, Oden averaged 11 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks in 24 minutes. Spread that average to 36, and he'd have registered 17 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. Given this production as well as his college numbers, it's easy to see why Portland kept him around for as long as they did." I would gladly take that from Drummond if I wanted to draft him at 6. (other than the injury part)
Yeah, I would like to see POR trade for Beal....sitting at #6 they may be able to move up to #4 or #5 at a relatively affordable cost come draft day...provided one of those teams is not enamored with one of that 2nd tier group (Robinson, Beal, MKG & Barnes) I don't think Darko is a good example at all, watching him play, he is nowhere near as athletic as Drummond is IMO.... Kwame Brown was a bust at #1, but he is still in the league as a serviceable big man.... Drummond is an interesting kid, he went to prep school in a small town, he is one of the younger kids in this draft clas, kind of a quiet, unassuming guy....and he just needs to mature some more....he got totally screwed up by the whole mess with Calhoun at UCONN...They never really utilized him right...He is definitely a project, that is the thing with him, it may take...2...3...4.. years? as he slowly develops...If his offense never materializes then I could see him like a DeAndre Jordan...defense, rebounding, running the floor and a lot of dunks that make up his offense, but he shows some potential to hit a jumper... http://articles.courant.com/2011-08..._1_andre-drummond-wilbraham-monson-jere-quinn
RealGM Wiretap...............NBA Execs Express Concern About Beal's Shooting Ability Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wireta...rn_About_Beals_Shooting_Ability#ixzz1yDUIQd6c
The thing is, all the relevant examples were top picks. If any of them went #6, like would be the case if we get Drummond, history would be much kinder to their memory.
What I read: Oh what will we do when someone selects Beal ahead of us, I guess we will conveniently take this other guy that you didn't take.
Whoever is picking Beal can't do it expecting him to be a great 3 point shooter. He hasn't shown he is one.
What I Read: Don't take this guy please his shot is bad, but if he happens to fall to us we will conveniently take him since he's fallen to us.
I know Hollinger's system is far from perfect but I am definitely concerned by it's implications. It's not so concerning that Lillard isn't in the top 6 or top 10; but that he is way down there at #27 in the rankings this year. I went through MM's previous Hollinger rankings and there were very few good players who were ranked lower than 26. Jeremy Linn, Ekpe Udoh, Avery Bradley and Chase Budinger were the best I could find. And all of those were actually projected to have higher PER's than Lillard's dismal under 10.
Just a quick FYI, those are Hollinger's projections, not Ford's. Hollinger is projecting PER based on college performance
Hollinger's projections are always weird. I get his has a system but the college game is way to different from the NBA game to have a numbers system that can accurately predict how good you will be as a pro.
His shooting form is one of the best seen from a prospect in years, no flaws in it a perfect shot Ford has said. With form that good then even if he isn't a 3 point shooter now you can definitely have him work on it and most likely the team will be pleased with the results.
If I remember correctly, which is a flawed statement knowing my brain, Martell barely missed any shots in his workout
To be fair, the worst he ever shot from 3 in PDX was 36% as a rookie, and up to around 39%, which isn't bad for someone shooting 250-350 per year. Obviously, the rest of his game didn't turn out the way we'd hoped, but as a 3-point shooter he wasn't bad at all.
I wonder how his game would have been under a different head coach at the beginning of his career? Martell seemed to have the ability to put the ball on the floor, shoot and defend. Seems like a pretty well tooled player?
Interesting thought. I believe that Hollinger's system is outmoded because there's not enough data in the current 1-and-done world of college basketball. Perhaps in the future 2 years of college will be required. If so, the system should be much more accurate.
Probasketballdraft @Probballdraft Interested to know if Bobcats hiring of Mike Dunlap bumps Moe Harkless up on their draft board. Dunlap did a great job with Harkless at SJU. I love Harkless. Maybe #6, #11 and our 2nds for #2 and #30? Assuming there is a guy we love that won't be there at #6? 3 million might also get us a pick in the 20's I wouldn't mind coming out of this draft with Thomas Robinson, Quincy Miller and Tony Wrotten. Then add two guys like Lou Williams ( I know, save it), Goran Dragic, Spencer Hawes or Ilyasova That would give us a nice mix of players, IMO
